


the man you seek is long gone

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: you are what you love (not who loves you) [2]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers S.P.D.
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, And it probably shows, Angst, Betrayal, Character Study, Drabble, Dru Harrington Is A Dick, Heartbreaking, M/M, Plot Bunny, Pre-Canon, Unrequited Love, and those have happy endings, because i'm about to stab you in the heart, because it was too much fun to hurt this poor man, but not this one, but who cares, emotionally speaking of course, i have other S.P.D. fics in the works, so i cranked this thing out in like half an hour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 13:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16765765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: When Sky was younger, he’d wanted Dru Harrington to be his Soulmate.(A short study into Sky in his earlier years, before his Soulmarks were activated.)





	the man you seek is long gone

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "I Know Those Eyes/This Man Is Dead" from the Count of Monte Cristo soundtrack.

_The mind plays tricks_

_You are confused_

_The man you seek is long gone_  
  
_Dead and cold_

_A story told, by those he trusted,_

_Those he loved, and those who then..._

_Moved on_

**_-The Count of Monte Cristo_ , I Know Those Eyes/This Man Is Dead**

When Sky was younger, he’d wanted Dru Harrington to be his Soulmate.

After all, the other two people that constantly stayed by his side, always moving up through the ranks with him, were already paired off and waiting for their final two Soulmates; Sky was alone, with no clue as to who his Soulmate might be.

On the other hand, there was always Dru, his best friend, the boy who stayed by his side when Syd and Bridge were off together. The boy who participated in any games Sky wanted to play, and ate meals with him, and was always ready with a quip and a laugh.

To have Dru as his Soulmate had been a small, painful wish, but one that made a twisted sort of sense. After all, Dru was known to be Soulless, and if the lack of Marks went both ways, like it did with Sky’s dad, then Dru wouldn’t know he was Sky’s.

It was a dream that Sky liked to believe in, when he fell asleep- a future with his best friend, someone who cared about him in a way that his dad used to talk about his mother.

Dru and he exchanged best friendship bracelets and Sky could almost- key word being _almost_ \- pretend like it's their Marks, an exchange of something that marked them as more than just friends. 

Then Dru went missing in action, and a part of Sky’s heart went as well.

-

The moment Dru pulls out his blaster on Sky and his teammates is the moment he knows there is no way this man- this criminal- is his Soulmate. No Soulmate would threaten violence on the person meant to complete them.

And finding out that Dru turned evil hurts something in Sky that he thought he’d sealed off from breaking. His heart cracks, parts of it shattering and flaking off. He had trusted Dru, had believed him to be- Sky can't even think the word anymore, it hurts too much.

-

That night finds Sky lying alone in his bed, with Bridge off in one of his Soulmate's rooms. He knows that he has hurt his team with his belief in Dru, with the way he welcomed Dru in and said rude things to Jack in the process. He knows he should apologize, but his heart feels too raw to do that right now.

Instead, he spends this evening grieving a childhood fantasy, and by the time he falls asleep all tears- and evidence thereof- are gone. Sky isn't going to weep over a criminal. Dru doesn't deserve his tears.

(But hope- hope deserves Sky's grief, as temporary as he tries to make it. Hope didn't deserve to die such a violent death as this one.)

-

The next day, though, finds him on cleaning duty when Jack Landors shows up, a rag tucked in his back pocket. "You need some help?" Jack asks, eyes kinder than they should be, and for a moment Sky hates him for still being so nice after everything that has happened. How can he switch from anger and resentment to forgiveness so quickly? Sky knows how to shut his emotions away, to compartmentalize until the pain eventually fades away, but to be kind- that sometimes takes more effort than he can emotionally take.

"If you'd like," Sky says, offering Jack an approximation of a smile, and Jack sits down next to him and starts scrubbing away at the tile. As they work they exchange words, some teasing and some serious, and Sky starts to feel a bit more normal.

As they work, though, Sky determines that he has to focus on his team from now on instead of dwelling on his Soulmate issues. He has a job to complete and a world to protect. He doesn't need the uncertainty and emotional pain that comes with Soulmates.

No more childhood dreams- Dru's betrayal has killed too many of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even sorry. 
> 
> (Okay, maybe a little.)


End file.
